Eye Catching Talents: Local Bakers To Check Out

Convenience is key, and in 2017, many people don’t have the time to physically walk into a store and order a custom cake, or even to walk into a bank, these days, is unnecessary.

We all love cakes, but we hate baking. The fun part is the eating, but sometimes we forget all the hard work and effort that goes into making the piece of heavenly goodness that takes us 10-15 minutes to devour. That’s why today we talk to three KL based bakers about their amazing journey into the baking industry.

Miss Shortcakes

The sole proprietor behind Miss Shortcakes, owner and operator, Jessica Ting started her career as a pastry chef in Sydney in 2001 working in 5-star hotels and restaurants. Ting started cake decorating in 2006, both on the job and through a few amateur night courses. With hard work and persistence in 2008 Ting decided to leave her full-time job to start a cake business in her own apartment, in Sydney. The home-based bakery then grew into a very busy business, earning a number 2 spot, in the Australian Bridal Industry Awards for Cake Design in NSW in 2009.

“I was running it by myself for 8 years, and when I moved back to KL, things got even busier. The business is always on my mind 24/7 and I work almost every single day. You cannot switch off from work even on the weekends like most 9-5 jobs. Also, taking custom cake orders every week means all the work must get completed within a 5 day period. There is no such thing as rest or postponing a cake order because it simply cannot be done.” said Jessica.

Back in the day, businesses relied on word of mouth, but in our time today, most businesses rely on social media marketing. And that’s why Miss Shortcakes takes this very seriously. “It’s the only way to run my business, as it saves me a lot of time and I get to reach out to thousands of people, all over the world. Convenience is key, and in 2017, many people don’t have the time to physically walk into a store and order a custom cake, or even to walk into a bank, these days, is unnecessary. And also because I am completely hands on with my cakes, I cannot leave my desk and take consultations. I do almost all my consultations online via email, WhatsApp, or even FB.”

Jessica takes pleasure in creating new designs to satisfy her customers. With every week comes a new design, creating a new masterpiece, as two cakes can never be the same. Her unique floral designs of wedding cakes and crazy novelty food cakes are a favourite. But that’s not where it ends, her recent McDonald’s Big Mac meal and a bowl of Curry Laksa cakes were off the charts!

But for a simpler look, her best sellers are French Vanilla and Raspberry and Belgian Chocolate cake that will melt your heart.

Elevete

After spending a few years in the kitchen to master the craft of being a chef, Edwin decided to open his own bakery specialising in macarons, cakes and desserts. Edwin made a point to showcase the true and authentic macaroon; crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside, with a pronounced flavour that will satisfy any macaron connoisseur. Besides pursuing the art to become a chef, Edwin comes from a line of culinary artists whose grandparents operated a heritage restaurant that specialises in Cantonese cuisines and pastries. At a young age, his grandparents’ day-to-day routine of running a restaurant business served as an inspiration for him to become a chef and set up his own central kitchen in the future.

While the business started small, and the challenges were almost never-ending, Elevete grew gradually baking goodies for people to enjoy, with a huge online following.

“It gives me great pleasure seeing people enjoying my desserts. I get compliments from customers who recognise my desserts just by the taste. This really inspires me to hone my craft further and push the boundaries of what is possible in baking. As an independent baker, I have the liberty to dictate my own recipes and baking techniques. As a result, I have total control over the creative output. I guess that is one of my favourite parts about my job,” Edwin explained.

While the macarons sell fast, the salted caramel popcorn (which is made in-house!) is a crowd’s favourite (I have tried it and it is to die for). While the Popstar cake which is a moist chocolate cake with salted caramel buttercream topped with homemade popcorns and salted caramel sauce is one that customers cannot get enough of. If you are thinking of ordering your share of mouth-watering delicacies make sure you also get the Tokeru cheesecake.

(Thank you Elevete for the amazing Macaroons, it was truly delicious!)

Cake Jalan Tiung

Cake Jalan Tiung began as a part-time hobby by founders Nur Shafinaz Abdul Rahman and Hidzad Lahuree, three years ago. Coming from a the baking industry the founders had fun baking and making coffee in their extra time, but as the years passed their business grew from providing whole cakes picked up from their home and serving coffee through pop-ups at private events to now having two intimate spaces in Shah Alam at Jalan Tengku Ampuan Zabedah J 9/J Seksyen 9 and at the lobby of Menara Naza TTDI in Seksyen 13.

The Cake Jalan Tiung shops provide a space for guests to enjoy handcrafted rustic-style bakes and whole cakes customised for personal pleasure as well as selected cafes in the Klang Valley.

“We like to think that our baking focuses on quality over quantity with an emphasis on rustic designs and not-too-sweet flavours.”

Like many other start-up businesses, Cake Jalan Tiung biggest fear was the fear of the unknown. And as most of the current businesses, the online presence has become essential in providing different advantages to their business, being the most cost effective and efficient way to introduce the business to as many people as possible.

“Having an online presence means being able to reach people in Malaysia and around the world. We have had comments and feedback online from people who have a common interest in baking that we really like reading. There have also been times where foreigners who have followed our social media account @cakejalantiung happen to be in Malaysia and make the trip to Shah Alam just to visit CJT and try our cakes and coffee. People have come from countries like Holland, UAE, Singapore, Brunei, Australia and Indonesia,” said Hidzad.

If you’re interested in visiting Cake Jalan Tiung, their signature desserts are the Salted Caramel & Chocolate cake and the Breezy Sue Pavlova, while the rest of the cake menu changes on a weekly basis. Their specialties are the Japanese-style creampuffs which are served on Wednesday and weekends. And their best sellers include the vanilla bean custard Creampuffsaurus, chocolate pudding Beyoncepuffs and green tea Midorisaurus.

We hope this eases your process in finding bakers for your upcoming event. If you need a venue and would like to inquire about it, go ahead and request for a FREE quotation. For more venue suggestions, visit www.venuescape.my or contact us at 012-7273984.

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